A round-table discussion that seeks to bring together those interested in the cultural potential and interaction of the various early Scottish literatures in the context of a modern Scotland increasingly ambitious to curate its own pasts, on its own terms.
The original idea came from a group of young scholars working on, and advocating, various dimensions of Scottish seventeenth-century culture, but for a Global congress the time span was expanded. This very exploratory first event – no formal papers; instead, as many voices from the audience heard as possible – aims to bring together people from different disciplines within ‘Scottish Studies’ and hopes to provide the impetus for future projects that bring texts, authors and scholars from individual linguistic disciplines together, or bring into the light authors and texts from individual linguistic spectrums (including regional literatures as well as Gaelic, Scots, English, Latin, French and Norse – there may be more) that should be better known in the wider field of early Scottish literatures. The panel’s hoped-for outcome, apart from meeting and learning about texts from different constituent parts of Scottish culture, is to formulate one or more ideas towards follow-up meetings or projects, also with a view eventually to reach an audience beyond academia – including the Scottish government.